In the shipping and cargo handling trade, it is vital to maximize expeditious handling of cargo loads, especially relatively small cargo, so as to maximize loading, unloading, and turnaround of a ship, tractor trailer, or other transport mode, and thereby enhance efficiency while seeking to minimize costs, damage, loss, and the like.
Illustrative activity directed toward improvements in freight handling of this nature is found extending over numerous years of development in numerous U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,620,391 to Fujioka, Fitch 1,613,387, Moreau 1,994,399, Coppinger 1,932,955, Andrews 1,522,707, or LeDuc 4,306,830, for example.
Major strides have been accomplished in this regard by the widespread adoption and use of so-called "containerized" freight in vehicular and waterborne transport. Quite generally at the present time, cargo holds on shipboard as well as vehicular trailers and their associated handling equipment have been adapted for ready use of such containers, which are of substantial dimensions. Illustratively, such a sea container may be on the order of a generally standardized 40 or 20 feet in length, and 8 feet in height and width, but may also partake of somewhat varying dimensions in particular applications, as shown for example in the "Container Specification 1987" booklet of the West German Hapag-Lloyd shipping and transport line. Like container equipment is available and in use with virtually all other cargo concerns.
While such containers achieve all that is desired in the safe and expeditious handling of the once-loaded or unloaded large sea or road containers, the same do not address the problem of ready packing or stuffing of the cargo or shipment within the large sea or road containers, or unloading and stripping therefrom.
Such contents handling, whether by pallet load, diverse forklift transfer or other shipment handling into and from the freight container itself remains frequently a piecemeal and time-consuming operation.
There exists a need and demand for improved handling of the cargo within the sea or road container so as to place the large containers into service promptly for transfer to ship or trailer and in like manner to expedite the emptying thereof so that the empty container can be rapidly transferred to a location elsewhere for reloading, and thereby avoid excessive "downtime" during tedious load/unload operations.
Concomitantly therewith, any effort to enhance in-container cargo handling must also preclude the likelihood of unwanted damage, as well as reasonable adaptability to the diverse dimensions of in-container cargo.